Evelyn Reynolds

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s insistence on directing monetary policy and sticking with low interest rates is draining confidence, economists say.ISTANBUL — Lines outside bread stores and gas stations; farmers defaulting on loans; impromptu street demonstrations. The signs of economic distress in Turkey are all too clear as the lira continues a dizzying slide.Sporadic protests have broken out around Turkey and the opposition parties have called for a series of rallies to demand a change of government after the lira crashed sharply last week. The latest week of turmoil follows months of worsening economic conditions for Turkish citizens. The currency has lost more than 45 percent of its value this year, and nearly 20 percent in the last week, continuing its downward trend on Tuesday. Economists have tied the currency crisis to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s direct interference in monetary policy and his determination to lower interest rates.The latest crash in the currency came after Mr. Erdogan gave a speech last week outlining his determination to keep rates low as a way of promoting economic growth. He reaffirmed his opposition to raising rates again in comments to reporters aboard his plane as he returned from a visit to Turkmenistan on Monday.President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey addressing members of his party last week. He has said he will “never compromise” on interest rates.Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Ppo/Via Reuters“I have never defended raising interest rates, I don’t now and will not defend it,” he told the reporters. “I will never compromise on this issue.”There are rumblings of public dissent, unusual for a country where only officially sanctioned demonstrations are permitted and the main television channels and newspapers follow the government line.Scores of people have been detained for joining street protests. The police detained 70 people in several districts of Istanbul last Wednesday who were protesting the government’s management of the economy, after a record drop in the lira the day before.The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions issued a blunt statement on Wednesday. “That’s enough. We want to make ends meet,” it read. “Unemployment, high living costs, price increases, and bills are breaking our backs.”An Istanbul shopping district last week. Some traders in the city said business was sharply down.Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesNecla Sazak, an 80-year-old retired bank employee heading home with a bag of groceries, said she was surviving on credit cards.“Our purchasing power dropped — our money has no value anymore,” she said.Business has stalled around the country as inflation scares away domestic shoppers and causes producers to hoard goods.“I didn’t sell anything since the morning,” Asuman Akkus, the 29-year-old owner of a clothing store in Istanbul, said one recent afternoon. “It is deserted here this week and it is 100 percent because of the dollar.”Opposition parties have renewed their call for the government to resign and for Mr. Erdogan or Parliament to call early elections. Yet they are in a bind, without the seats in Parliament to force a vote for early elections and wary of triggering unrest that could prompt Mr. Erdogan to impose a state of emergency, which would suspend normal democratic procedures.Police officers detaining a protester during a demonstration in Istanbul last week.Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMr. Erdogan, who is sliding in the polls, will not call elections before they are scheduled in June 2023, a political ally, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, said last week. In the meantime, Mr. Erdogan ratcheted up the pressure on his opponents by detaining Metin Gurcan, a military and political analyst and a leading member of an emerging opposition party, DEVA, on charges of espionage.Mr. Erdogan has promised that low interest rates will help kick start the economy within three to six months, but economists said they detected little confidence in his policies at this stage.“I don’t think he has the confidence of the nation anymore,” said Atilla Yesilada, an investment analyst with Global Source Partners. “There’s an urgent problem of deepening poverty and the wheels of the economy are coming to a standstill,” he said.Some loyal supporters of Mr. Erdogan, when asked, insist that everything is fine, but even the pro-government columnist Abdulkadir Selvi, of the Turkish daily Hurriyet, said he disagreed with Mr. Erdogan’s economic policy. He recalled an episode during an earlier economic crisis in 2001 when a shopkeeper threw his cash register at the prime minister, sparking a countrywide revolt.Outside a currency exchange office in Istanbul last week. The Turkish lira has lost more than 45 percent of its value this year.Sedat Suna/EPA, via Shutterstock“We can’t ignore what is happening today,” Mr. Selvi warned. He added: “We should stay strong but we shouldn’t miss the fact that broad economic turmoil has broad political consequences.”Shortages are emerging, including in imported medicines and medical equipment, and even at bakeries, Mr. Yesilada, the analyst, said. A loaf of bread still sells at 2.5 liras, or about 20 cents, but bakeries are complaining that their costs are closer to 4 liras a loaf, he said. “Soon they are going to shut down bakeries and then we are going to have bread riots,” he said.The Turkish public talks of little but the economy.“We used to be able to go and have tea with our friends in a cafe somewhere, but now a glass of tea costs 7 liras and so we don’t go,” said Cansu Aydin, a high-school graduate. “Our social lives have come to a stop, and now it’s as if we are living just to survive.”Some Turks have expressed concerns over their ability to afford basic goods. Erdem Sahin/EPA, via ShutterstockOguzhan Yelda, 21, a student in Istanbul, said he worried especially about “utility bills and basic goods like oil, sugar, flour.” Many young people were leaving the country to take menial jobs as cleaners and waiters abroad, he said. “When I graduate, a bleak future awaits me.”Dogan Gul, 60, was sitting outside a bank in Istanbul on Monday, waiting for it to open so he could make a payment on a loan. “We cannot get by,” he said. “The rent has gone up from 1,500 liras to almost 2,500 liras since last year. I don’t know where this is all going.”He said he could not afford the cost of transportation to visit relatives.“For the future of my children, what can I say?” he lamented. “They are each trying to make sure they have a meal once a day. They can’t even think about the next day. They can’t plan their futures. This is not just the case for me but for all of Turkey.”For Yaman Ayhan, who sells clothing online, the answer is plain. “The leaders have to change,” he said. “Just a decision for snap elections would make the lira gain some value.” More

Megan Searfoss has been hoarding sneakers in Connecticut.Ms. Searfoss, the owner of two running stores in Darien and Ridgefield, Conn., would normally have about 3,000 pairs of shoes in stock ahead of the holiday season. But as she watched supply chain concerns in Vietnam mount this summer and into the fall, she secured a new storage facility and is now carrying around 4,100 pairs.It’s a costly gamble for Ms. Searfoss, who said she is extended about $165,000 more than she would typically be in November because of worries about potential shortages.“It’s placing a big bet and anticipating that what all the analysts are saying is correct,” Ms. Searfoss said. “Usually, we get through the New York City Marathon and then we stop buying shoes — we sell off what we have and go into January super, super lean. But we’re being told not to do that because there’s just not going to be any shoes.”The buildup of running shoes in Connecticut is just one example of how supply chain woes and pandemic-related shortages are affecting thousands of small businesses around the United States this holiday season. While the widespread availability of vaccines is translating into a busier shopping season than last year, businesses of all sizes are grappling with the impact from factory shutdowns overseas, backups at ports, and trucking and other labor shortages.For many small businesses, the unpredictability this year has forced them to make buying decisions months or weeks earlier than they normally would and to tie up more of their cash in inventory, which can be risky.“The big thing is you really have to order in advance,” said Dan Quinn, an owner of What We Make, a furniture business in Algonquin, Ill., which sells tables and other wares through Etsy. “I’ve got 14 weeks of projects. I need to get most of that material in house as fast as possible and keep buying it until you have a stockpile basically.”Angela Arnold owns Playmatters Toys in Ohio with her husband.Angelo Merendino for The New York TimesThey ordered some toys in mid-May but still haven’t been able to stay ahead of the supply chain issues.Angelo Merendino for The New York TimesWhile many small businesses are affected by manufacturing issues overseas, some have used this moment to their advantage. Etsy, which powers online stores for millions of sellers, said that more than half of its U.S. vendors source materials from within their own states, allowing them to bypass many of the supply chain problems that are impacting the global economy. Etsy stores “don’t have the complex supply chains that are vulnerable to single points of failure,” Josh Silverman, Etsy’s chief executive, said in an interview.Still, the range of shortages can manifest themselves in unusual ways.Isabel Amigon, owner of the online store Sololi, is still waiting on an order of Christmas tree ornaments she placed in April. The manufacturer alerted her that the order would be delayed because of a shortage in strings to tie on top of the decorated orbs.Ms. Amigon, who is based in Westchester County, N.Y., said that she was worried that if she didn’t get them in time for the holiday season, she would have to wait until next year to make use of the inventory. The string shortage has also led her to remove specific home goods items from her website, such as table runners and washcloths.“Even if I get them by the end of November, I won’t be able to sell all of them because most people have already bought their ornaments,” Ms. Amigon said. “I placed the orders early and I still have to face this situation.”Other missing items are more traditional than string.“Some things we ordered in June and July are still coming in,” Sean Arnold, an owner of Playmatters Toys, said.Angelo Merendino for The New York TimesEarlier this year, Angela and Sean Arnold were planning to order another set of Disney princess dolls to fill some shelves in their toy store, Playmatters Toys, in Pepper Pike, Ohio. But they got a notification in September from the distributor alerting them and other toy store owners that the items were “indefinitely out of stock” because the factory in Vietnam where the dolls are manufactured was shut down because of a Covid-19 outbreak.Even though they anticipated shipping delays and ordered some toys in mid-May instead of August, they could not get ahead of the global disruption.And it’s not only dolls. The couple has been missing out on other toys and electronics because of shipping delays or disruptions in manufacturing plants in Vietnam. The couple has also been forced to raise prices on some products as they face higher transportation and wholesale costs from toy vendors.“Some things we ordered in June and July are still coming in,” Mr. Arnold said.Because of these kind of delays, Etsy has viewed this moment as one in which small businesses can provide gift options that are not reliant on overseas factories and shipping. Extra consumer interest in small businesses, whether online or offline, would likely be welcome after the pandemic dealt a crippling blow to so many last year.Etsy said it had seen searches for living room furniture soar by 1,572 percent and less dramatic but significant jumps for dining tables, checkers or chess boards, suggesting that some shoppers are coming to the site rather than going to chain stores.The bookstore owner Jeannine Cook said customers have canceled orders because publishers have had trouble delivering books.Mark Makela for The New York TimesEtsy learned how to better handle large surges in demand after face masks exploded as a category on the site during the onset of the pandemic and it has made improvements designed to mitigate shipping issues it experienced then. Mr. Silverman said that now, virtually all items from sellers in the U.S. have an expected delivery date, which was not the case a year ago, and shoppers can filter products by geography to shop from vendors in their area, which can help accelerate shipping.The company also said it checks in with sellers to ensure they have enough raw materials and supplies when its technology observes jumps in demand for specific items.Mr. Quinn, the owner of the furniture seller What We Make, has seen his business boom as Americans grapple with long wait times and lack of availability for furniture from chains. Customers have been willing to wait 10 weeks for a dining table from him, particularly after seeing 20-week waits at chains like West Elm.“The big box stores don’t have a lot of things they normally have so the positive for us is that people are sort of forced to look at other options whereas before they’d settle for the simplest option,” he said.Still, he has seen his business disrupted in other ways, including a sharp increase in material prices and a scramble for reclaimed wood, which typically comes from old barns.“The people who take down the barns for the material we use, a lot of them ended up getting laid off or going on unemployment,” Mr. Quinn said. “So we have had to try to stockpile material and order well in advance of what we used to do.”“It makes me nervous because I don’t want folks to feel like they can’t get what they need or want,” Ms. Cook said.Mark Makela for The New York TimesWhile Mr. Quinn has been thriving in spite of competition from major furniture sellers, the country’s biggest retailers are often better equipped to handle supply chain issues than small businesses. Companies like Walmart and Amazon are massive enough that they can charter airplanes to obtain certain goods.Jeannine Cook doesn’t have that luxury. Ms. Cook, the owner of Harriett’s Bookshop in Philadelphia, noticed during the summer that publishers were having trouble delivering her book orders, with some unable to even provide a timeline for when orders would arrive. The problem became more widespread in late August.Ms. Cook, who opened a second location in Collingswood, N.J., in July, said that more customers were canceling their orders from the bookshop.“It makes me nervous because I don’t want folks to feel like they can’t get what they need or want,” Ms. Cook said. “It’s hard because we’re already up against the big-box companies that have so much more infrastructure than we do.”Ms. Searfoss said she sometimes got nervous thinking, “look at all that I’ve bought.”Christopher Capozziello for The New York TimesA recent study by Adobe showed that out-of-stock messages in October more than quadrupled compared with October 2019. That’s one reason that the retail industry, including small businesses, have urged the public to shop early this year to secure gifts for the holiday season.“I hate that we have now gone right from Halloween to Christmas,” said Ms. Searfoss, the proprietor of the running stores, who said that she began holiday marketing on Nov. 1 for the first time. “I don’t want people to feel frantic but I do think it’s pretty serious that they’re not going to get what they want this year.”She anticipated that shipping delays and out-of-stock issues at bigger chains might drive business to her stores. “People, those days before Christmas, will be buying whatever they can from whatever local store they can,” she said.“It’s just a little bit stressful for me, thinking, ‘OK, look at all that I’ve bought,’” Ms. Searfoss said. “If I buy it, will they come?” More

Eliminating tariffs imposed on goods during the worst of the trade war would help ease inflation in the U.S., former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told CNBC.
But there’s currently “no political space” to do so, he said on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”
Worries over inflation have shot up this year, as energy prices spiked and the ongoing supply chain crisis led to shortages of goods. But Lew said there’s been “a bit of excess nervousness about inflation.”

Eliminating tariffs imposed on goods during the worst of the trade war would help ease inflation in the U.S., former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told CNBC on Tuesday.
But there’s currently “no political space” to do so, he said on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”

“I think that the United States and China have deep differences. I’ve never thought it should just be about negotiating the exchange of one good or another on one side or the other. It should be about a level playing field,” Lew said. He served as treasury secretary from 2013 to 2017 during the Obama administration.
He continued: “I’ve thought from the beginning that the tariffs were an ineffective way to deal with their attacks on American consumers. And right now, with inflation being an issue, rolling back tariffs would actually reduce inflation in the United States.”
Relations between Washington and Beijing took a turn for the worse in 2018, when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and Beijing retaliated with similar punitive measures, drawing both sides into a protracted trade war.

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U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods stood at an average of 19.3% on a trade-weighted basis in early 2021, while Chinese tariffs on American products were at about 20.7%, according to data compiled by think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics earlier this year.
Before the trade war, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were on average 3.1% in early 2018 while China’s tariffs on American goods were at 8%, the data showed.

Referring to rolling back tariffs, Lew said: “Both the leaders have to, I think, create political space in our two countries for these issues to be issues where you can move and make progress, because otherwise we either stay where we are. It gets worse. I think we can do better.”
American businesses are bearing most of the cost burden from the elevated tariffs imposed at the height of the U.S.-China trade war, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service earlier this year.
The ratings agency said that U.S. importers absorbed more than 90% of additional costs resulting from the 20% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods. That means U.S. importers pay around 18.5% more in price for a Chinese product subject to that 20% tariff rate, while Chinese exporters receive 1.5% less for the same product, according to the report.

‘Excess nervousness’ about inflation

But Lew told CNBC it’s likely “much of the inflation that we’re seeing will work its way through.”
“I don’t think anyone is predicting hyperinflation,” he said. “But I think there’s been a bit of excess nervousness about inflation. And candidly, the public reaction to inflation is very strong.”
But Lew warned that policymakers have to walk a fine line and ensure that measures used to combat inflation don’t slow the economy down so much that they dampen growth.
— CNBC’s Yen Nee Lee, Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

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Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. More

President Joe Biden hosted the CEOs of several major retailers at the White House Monday to discuss efforts to tackle global supply chain bottlenecks and inflation.
CEOs from Etsy, Samsung, Kroger, Food Lion and Mattel were among those who attended in person.
The event was part of a multi-pronged White House effort to tackle the intertwined challenges of global supply chain bottlenecks and inflation.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden hosted the CEOs of several major retailers at the White House on Monday to discuss administration efforts to tackle global supply chain bottlenecks, and to reassure Americans that goods will be on shelves for the holidays.
Joining Biden in person from the tech sector were Etsy CEO Josh Silverman and Samsung CEO KS Choi. The grocery sector was represented by Food Lion president Meg Ham, Todos Supermarket CEO Carlos Castro and Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen.

Other retailers in attendance included Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, Best Buy CEO Corrie Barry and David Rawlinson, CEO of Qurate Retail Group, which owns brands like QVC, Ballard Designs and Zulily.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch attended the meeting virtually.
“The business leaders gathered here today represent a broad swath of American shopping,” Biden said in his opening remarks. “I want to hear from each of you about what you’re seeing this holiday season, how well prepared are you to have products you need on your shelves, and how you’ve innovated and hired to overcome these supply chain challenges you have.”
In particular, Biden said, he hoped to hear about the challenges facing small businesses and about how the federal government could continue partnering with retailers to help them keep shelves stocked.
The first CEO to speak was Ham, who said Food Lion’s supply chain was “strong and robust, and we have ample product inside of our stores.”

She credited the company’s own supply chain and its early planning with vendors and local farmers with helping the company stock stores across 10 states with fresh food and produce.

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Next, Biden asked McMillon of Walmart if there had been any improvements in the rate of its goods flowing through ports as a result of recent actions by the administration.
The White House first created a Supply Chain Disruption Task Force in June and tapped John Porcari to be the group’s Port Envoy in August. This fall, the administration worked closely with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to help them expand their operating hours and reduce the long line of ships waiting to unload cargo in the ports.
McMillon said Walmart had seen a 26% increase in throughput at ports nationwide in the past 4 weeks, with an even higher rate of increased flow through, 51%, at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Earlier this month, the administration rolled out a second series of steps it is taking to address cargo backlogs at major ports, including $4 billion worth of construction at coastal ports and inland waterways. This work, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is slated to begin within 60 days.
After the roundtable, Biden was initially scheduled to deliver remarks on what his administration is doing to “strengthen the nation’s supply chains, lower everyday costs for families, and ensure that shelves are well-stocked this holiday season,” the White House said Monday morning.
But those remarks were abruptly postponed until Wednesday. A White House official said the last-minute schedule change was because Biden “wanted to ensure ample time spent with the business leaders who traveled to the White House today.”

US President Joe Biden takes part in a roundtable with CEOs and leaders of major retailers, consumer products firms, and grocers to discuss the holiday shopping season in the library of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC on November 29, 2021.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

The roundtable was part of a multi-pronged White House effort to tackle the intertwined challenges of global supply chain bottlenecks and inflation.
Both of these problems trace their roots to an increase in post-pandemic demand for goods, which has collided with a global shipping system still hampered by Covid slowdowns.
And while there is little that Biden can do to directly influence these two macro-level challenges, the White House has been working overtime to make changes where it can.
Two days before Thanksgiving, Biden announced the United State would release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of a global effort by major oil consuming nations to ease the high price of gasoline.
Increasing the supply of goods on U.S. shelves is expected to ease some of the pressure on prices. So is reducing the price of gas, which has skyrocketed this year and contributed to the high cost of retail goods.
But for many consumers, the pace of government solutions does not appear to be meeting the urgency of price inflation.
Monday’s event at the White House follows a Thanksgiving weekend during which Americans paid significantly more for turkey, potatoes and pies than they’ve paid in recent years. The U.S. consumer price index increased 6.2% last month from October 2020, with the price of food increasing 5.2% on the year.
Now, the 2021 holiday shopping season promises to feature both the inflation that impacted Thanksgiving’s food costs, plus the added supply chain concerns about goods being unavailable.

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Facing delays, shortages and higher prices for raw materials, small manufacturers are finding new sources. Not all are able to pass along the costs.Peak season has arrived for DPS Skis, a manufacturer and distributor of mountain sports gear in Salt Lake City. But this year, the winter challenges began far from the slopes.A kinked-up global supply chain has forced Alex Adema, the chief executive, to find new sources for the wood used in his company’s skis and to get crucial items like bindings and poles.“The window is really short,” he said. “Skiers get excited when they know snow is coming.”Facing long delays in getting finished goods and raw material from Asia and Europe because of a lack of freighter space and overloaded ports, small to medium-size manufacturers like DPS are being forced to adapt quickly.Unlike giants such as Walmart, they lack the means to charter their own cargo ships — or to design their own semiconductors, as Ford Motor said it would do this month. Instead, they are revisiting some of the practices — lean inventories, just-in-time deliveries, and reliance on components from China and other faraway suppliers — that were part of the established factory playbook.“The more control you have over your own supply chain, the better,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a policy group representing manufacturers and the United Steelworkers.In practice, that means meeting needs through less-distant sources. “That way,” Mr. Paul said, “you’re either first in line or have a leg up.” But that can push up costs — a burden that is sometimes passed along to customers, and in other cases is absorbed by the businesses.Until this year, DPS bought the Paulownia species of hardwood for the core of many of its skis from China, but shipping delays meant that running out of the material was a real possibility. At one point as supplies dwindled in October, “we were holding our breath,” Mr. Adema said.DPS found a supplier of Paulownia in North Carolina, and after much testing, the specifications matched up. “You can’t just swap species,” Mr. Adema said. “We’re excited about getting the wood from North Carolina in terms of sustainability and less environmental imprint. Any time you can throw something on a train in the U.S., it’s better than a ship or plane.”Not everything is available domestically, however. Ski poles and ski bindings still come from Europe, and DPS has been forced to resort to airfreight to bring in supplies of these items, even though it’s four times as expensive as shipping by sea.And while DPS ships by boat whenever possible, it’s hardly cheap — the price of shipping a container has gone from roughly $5,000 to $20,000 in some cases, Mr. Adema said. Overall, raw material costs for DPS are up 10 to 15 percent..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-1kpebx{margin:0 auto;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-1kpebx{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-1kpebx{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1kpebx{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-1gtxqqv{margin-bottom:0;}.css-19zsuqr{display:block;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}These kind of increases are coursing through the economy, and are a primary reason inflation is running at the fastest pace in 31 years, with a 6.2 percent increase in prices in October from a year earlier. But unlike many other companies, DPS hasn’t been able to pass on the higher costs to consumers.“Our ski shop customers place their orders in the spring, and they’ve committed to pricing and delivery dates for this upcoming season,” Mr. Adema said. Designed for backcountry touring as well as resort trails, the company’s skis sell for about $800 to $1,400 a pair. Poles begin at $99. “For us to change prices in midstream would not be good for relations with our community,” Mr. Adema added. “We have to absorb the costs.”Other manufacturers face many of the same issues but have more flexibility on prices. Honey-Can-Do, a maker of housewares like storage carts and shelving in Chicago, has been able to pass along its higher costs, said Steve Greenspon, the company’s owner and chief executive.“Everybody knows what’s going on,” Mr. Greenspon said. “It’s become commonplace and accepted this year for retailers to accept cost increases. I’ve heard from merchants that over 90 percent of vendors are giving them price increases.”This trend marks a turnabout from prepandemic days. “If you tried to pass along a major price increase to a big retailer a couple of years ago, there’d be concerns about your relationship,” Mr. Greenspon said. “But in the current atmosphere, it’s the norm.”Honey-Can-Do’s prices are up roughly 10 percent to 25 percent, depending on the raw materials, freight costs and how much corrugated packaging is used in shipping. Its products include a 65-inch baker’s rack with a cutting board and hanging storage that retails for $119.99 and a toy organizer with 12 bins that sells for $59.99.The company has streamlined its product offerings, narrowing the focus to its top sellers. “We don’t want to use up our container capacity with slower-moving items,” Mr. Greenspon said. “We want to use that space for high-velocity items.”“Instead of multiple colors and many variations, companies are making things more neutral,” he added. “We’re focusing on proven winners.”The company is also increasing the inventory it keeps on hand, buying three additional warehouses to hold goods. “Everybody is loading up on inventory,” Mr. Greenspon said, “and prices for warehouses have spiked.”DPS Skis has had to overcome a kinked-up supply chain with steps like changing the source of the wood that goes into skis.Alex Goodlett for The New York TimesThe company’s production facilities are in Asia, so “the supply chain issue is something that dominates every conversation.” Mr. Greenspon said. He has explored moving production to Mexico or the United States — shortening the supply chain, as experts advise — but hasn’t been able to find a satisfactory supplier yet. “You can’t sell what you don’t have,” he said.Reshoring is a buzzword these days, but it’s premature to expect a domestic manufacturing renaissance as a result of the supply-chain mess, said Willy C. Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School. “We will bring things back, but it’s harder than you think,” he said.Understand the Supply Chain CrisisCard 1 of 5Covid’s impact on the supply chain continues. More

Signed contracts on existing homes, so-called pending sales, jumped 7.5% from September, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage was just below 3% in mid-September, but climbed to 3.22% by the end of October, according to Mortgage News Daily.

A single family home is shown for sale and in escrow in San Marcos, California.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Buyers came roaring back to the housing market in October, even as mortgage rates rose.
Signed contracts on existing homes, so-called pending sales, jumped 7.5% from September, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were still 1.4% lower than October 2020, but last fall marked a cyclical high in the housing market.

Pending sales are a forward-looking indicator of sales that will close in one to two months. Wall Street analysts were expecting October pending sales to be flat compared with the month before.
Closed sales in October also rose unexpectedly.
“Motivated by fast-rising rents and the anticipated increase in mortgage rates, consumers that are on strong financial footing are signing contracts to purchase a home sooner rather than later,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “This solid buying is a testament to demand still being relatively high, as it is occurring during a time when inventory is still markedly low.”
Sales were strongest in the Midwest and South regions, rising 11.8% and 8.0% month to month, respectively.
In the Northeast, pending sales rose 6.9% month to month, and in the West they increased 2.1%.

The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage was just below 3% in mid-September, but climbed to 3.22% by the end of October, according to Mortgage News Daily. Mortgage rates dropped back last Friday, however, on news of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Homebuyers, especially those on the lower end of the market, continue to find very few houses listed for sale. Total housing inventory at the end of October stood at 1.25 million units, down 0.8% from September and down 12.0% from one year ago (1.42 million). At the October sales pace, that represents an extremely low 2.4-month supply. A four- to six-month supply is generally considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
The fall surge in homebuying, also seen in closed sales in October, rounds out an extremely strong year for the market. Last year’s jump began just a few months after the onset of the pandemic in the U.S., and while many thought it would lose steam, apparently it hasn’t yet.
“The notable gain in October assures that total existing-home sales in 2021 will exceed 6 million, which will shape up to be the best performance in 15 years,” added Yun.
Sales of newly built homes, which are also measured by signed contracts, did fall in October, but that may be due to the fact that big builders are slowing sales in order to deal with supply chain issues in construction.
Correction: In the Northeast, pending sales rose 6.9% month to month. An earlier version misstated the time period.

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